Michael Cicione v. Lawrence, City of - Fire Department (SPR 20180636)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords May 9, 2018 SPR18/636 Officer Eugene Scanlon Keeper of Records Lawrence Police Department 90 Lowell Street Lawrence, MA O1 840 Dear Officer Scanlon: I have received the petition of Michael Cicione appealing the response of the Lawrence Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1 OA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1 ). Specifically, Mr. Cicione requested records related to a particular incident. Previous appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR18/588 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (May 3, 2018). I closed SPR18/588 by ordering the Department to provide Mr. Cicione with a supplemental response. The Department provided a supplemental response dated May 4, 2018. Unsatisfied with this response, Mr. Cicione petitioned this office, and this appeal (SPRl 8/636) was opened as a result. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). "Public records" is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any toV1rn of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 1 O(b )(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attomev for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507,511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre• pre@sec.state.rna.us

Officer Eugene Scanlon SPR18/636 Page 2 May 9, 2018 rnust not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. If there are any fees associated with a response a ,vritten, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 1 O(b )(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. The Department's May l 11 response In a response dated May 4, 2018, the Department informed Mr. Cicione that they would be withholding responsive records, pursuant to Exemption (f) under the Public Records Law. The Department claimed that this matter was still an open investigation. However, subsequent to the opening of this appeal, the Department withdrew its Exemption (f) claim, and provided Mr. Cicione with responsive records. Consequently, I find it is unnecessary to opine on the Department's Exemption (f) claim. Conclusion Accordingly, as the Department has provided Mr. Cicione with responsive records, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Michael Cicione